Analysis of Water Losses and the Management of Non-Revenue Water by Plateau State Water Board in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

Water is essential for all human activities and for sustenance of human life. Adequate water supply to households remains a mirage due to poor water management leading to water wastages emanating from both the production and distribution process and the activities of water thieves and carelessness from inability of the SWAs to promptly resolve all reported cases of leaks and bursts in the distribution and production channels. This study has analyzed the ways through which water is lost from Water Distribution Production System and network and how it affects the revenue of PSWB. It utilized the authors’ observations, key stakeholder interview and documented reports of leaks and bursts, illegal connections, administrative leakages and other non-revenue water obtained from Plateau State Water Board Jos. The study has established among other things that of all the leakages are as result of administrative and physical leakages, followed by vanadalisation and illegal connections which are more prevalent in Jos Central and Gada Biyu in Jos North and Bukuru/Rahol kanang area in Jos South Local Government Area, it also found that water losses impacts negatively on the revenue profile of the Board. The study concludes that water supply assets such as assessment pipelines networks to identify aged pipes where water leakages is common, prepaid water meters should be deployed to all areas to ascertain the actual volume of water delivered in the Water Distribution System (WDS) and water use for ease of determining the Non-Revenue Water (NRW).